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Cherishing Each Day with ALS

A new year brings new hopes and new dreams. But in a small western Pennsylvania town; one special couple is hoping for and dreaming of something so very simple: one more day, one more breath, one more moment to share the love that a deadly disease promises to take away from them.

A new year brings new hopes and new dreams. But in a small western Pennsylvania town; one special couple is hoping for and dreaming of something so very simple: one more day, one more breath, one more moment to share the love that a deadly disease promises to take away from them.

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Updated: 7:53 PM EST Jan 1, 2014

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WEBVTT WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE. NEW YEARS COME WITH NEW HOPES AND NEW DREAMS. PLANS FOR NEW BEGINNINGS. BUT TONIGHT I WANT YOU TO MEET A SPECIAL COUPLE FOR WHOM 2014 MEANS SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT. IT'S ABOUT LOVE. AND THE CHANCE TO SHARE IT FOR JUST ONE MORE DAY. FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE. SUCTION IT OUT FOR HIM. Reporter: LINDA MARTIN SAID THOSE FIVE WORDS 31 YEARS AGO AND SHE MEANT THEM. THIS IS A LONG LIFE. YES. YES. MOST DEFINITELY. TWO TO FIVE YEARS IS WHAT WE WERE TOLD WAS LIFE EXPECTANCY AND HE'S WELL SURPASSED THAT. Reporter: THEY MET BACK IN 1 198. HIS SENSE OF HUMOR. Reporter: ENJOYED 20 YEARS AND TWO BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN. BEFORE LINDA KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG. I DON'T KNOW, IT'S JUST OVERWHELMING SOMETIMES HOW IT CAN AFFECT SOMEBODY. HOW IT TAKES AWAY FROM THEM. Reporter: TOM WORKED FOR VERIZON AND THINGS STARTED TO HAPPEN. HIS FINGERS GREW WEAK AND HE LOST HIS VOICE. BACK AND FORTH IS LIKE YOU SHAKING YOUR HEAD NO AND BLINKING THEN MEANS YES. Reporter: WITHIN TWO YEARS, TOM WAS TRACHED AND BED BOUND AND LINDA HAS CARED FOR HIM EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY OF EVERY MONTH. IN SICKNESS AND HEALTH AND RICHER AND POORER. Reporter: FOR THE PAST 11 YEARS. DEVASTATING. TO HAVE SOMEBODY LOSE THE ABILITY TO MOVE, YET, BE MENTALLY THERE TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO MOVE ANY MORE. THAT THEY'RE NOT INDEPENDENT ANY MORE. IT'S DEVASTATING. Reporter: TOM HAS LIVED THOSE 11 YEARS IN THIS BED. HIS WIFE, THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE, BY HIS SIDE. HIS EYES ARE MOVING A LOT. I'M HAVING TROUBLE FIGURING OUT. Reporter: HE TALKED THROUGH THIS ALPHA BOARD AND WHILE HE CAN FEEL, TOM CAN'T MOVE ANY MORE. HE CAN'T TALK OR EAT OR BREATHE ON HIS OWN. LINDA IS HIS EVERYTHING. I ASKED HIM TO DESCRIBE HIS FEELINGS FOR HER IN ONE WORD. OKAY, I'M JUST GOING TO GUESS WHAT YOU'RE SPELLING. EXCELLENT. Reporter: YOU LOVE HER? I SAW THE EYE. DESPITE HER GRUELING 18-HOUR DAYS. WRITE THE LETTERS DOWN. Reporter: INSIDE THIS TINY TRAILER. I MARVEL AT YOU AND I KNOW I DO NOT MARVEL AT YOU, BUT I DO. THAT'S MY MOM IN ME. SHE RAISED ME TO BE INDEPENDENT AND DO WHAT YOU NEED TO DO AND YOU DO IT. Reporter: LINDA MARTIN WELCOMES A NEW YEAR BY COUNTING HER GREATEST BLESSING. HE HAS LIVED TWICE AS LONG AS HIS DOCTORS EVER SAID HE WOULD. DO YOU LET YOURSELF CRY? NOT OFTEN, NO. Reporter: NO. I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO. I CAN'T SPEND TIME DOING THAT. Reporter: SHE WOULD RATHER SPEND HER TIME DREAMING OF ANOTHER 365 DAYS WITH HER ONE TRUE LOVE. LINDA AND TOM MARTIN LIVE ABOUT AN HOUR EAST OF PITTSBURGH IN CAMBRIA COUNTY. TOM WAS DIAGNOSED THIS MONTH 12 YEARS AGO WITH ALS, LOU GEHRIGS DISEASE. TOGETHER THEY COUNT THEIR MANY BLESSES AND THEY CELEBRATE THEIR LOVE ONE DAY AT A TIME. THAT REALLY IS LOVE. ALL SHE WANTS IS ONE MORE DAY. ONE MORE MOMENT WITH THE MAN SHE LOVES. YOU CAN TELL THEY BOTH

Cherishing Each Day with ALS

A new year brings new hopes and new dreams. But in a small western Pennsylvania town; one special couple is hoping for and dreaming of something so very simple: one more day, one more breath, one more moment to share the love that a deadly disease promises to take away from them.